A Grandmother’s Tribe

New Zealand 2007 / 53min. Kiswahili, Luo, Luhya with English subtitles.
Directors Qiujing Wong, Dean Easterbrook / Producer Dean Easterbrook, Qiujing Wong

A Grandmother’s Tribe is set partly in the village and partly in the biggest slum of Kenya. Beginning seven days before, the film leads up to Christmas Day as we witness the struggle, survival and reality of children orphaned by the loss of their parents through the AIDS epidemic who are held safe and reared by their grandmothers.

Director Wong delicately reveals the stories of two boys and their grandmothers, one from the slum of the capital Nairobi and the other from the village Funyula in Western Kenya. Silas and Emmanuel have both experienced the trauma of losing not only their parents but almost the whole generation they would lean on for parental support. Now it is up to the oldest and the youngest in Kenya to help future generations survive. The contrasts are striking, but so are the similarities between the two situations. These subtle yet epic stories of ordinary people reveal a depth and the soul of humanity.

A Grandmother’s Tribe is a ‘For-Purpose’ film and campaign. All net proceeds will be used to support the grandmothers in the film, and beyond that, grandmothers in other parts of Africa.

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